Recently, I found myself enraptured by the words of the prophet Isaiah. Though he wrote from the opposite side of the world of my hometown to a culture I am thousands of years removed from, the words of our “living book” leapt forward to the very place I sit.
Isaiah wrote at a perilous time. Israel, the one nation that was supposed to be a “lighthouse” for the world to see the love and glory of God had unraveled under civil war that split tribes and loyalties in two: Israel and Judah. Writing primarily to the Kingdom of Judah, Isaiah spent a large portion of his letter (39 chapters) warning the people about the callousness of their hearts and the unavoidable consequences that accompanied their sin. I’m not gonna lie to you. It’s pretty bleak stuff, coming off a lot like our evening news. But just then, in the depth of the mess, Isaiah follows the pattern of the biblical prophets as warning gives way to miraculous hope.
God’s “good news” often has to travel through our wayward paths, but it never leaves us there.
Starting in Isaiah 40, the tone of the entire book shifts to a message of hope for the weary, discouraged, afraid, and overwhelmed. And, if we’re willing to listen, it is exactly what our Father is speaking over the days in which we find ourselves.
“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.” Isaiah 40:1-2
Several phrases leap off the page:
Comfort: “Comfort, Console.” To comfort someone in their grief and disappointment; a healing and tender embrace.
Speak Tenderly: “Speak and promise straight to their heart.” To engage at the most core level of who someone is.
Cry to her: “Call out; A loud, bold proclamation.”
What are we to cry out?
The war is over.
Our sin is pardoned.
Grace is ours.
The people had wandered. They’d missed the mark. Violence and bloodshed filled the streets, just as judgment flooded the hearts of many. And yet. God chooses to come close to his undeserving children with…comfort.
Though it felt as if she “received double” for her sins, in the time to come, Israel would receive a “double portion” that would fill her with everlasting joy (Isaiah 61:7). He continues into a passage that may look familiar to us:
“A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Isaiah 40:3-5
This is the Gospel message, the “way of the Lord” that John the Baptist was sent out to preach. We are to straighten all of our road maps of theology to this. We are to make our low places of disillusionment and disappointment rise to this. We are to take every high place of our confidence in how the world works and make it bow to this: The Lord is coming near in the fullness of his glory, and all flesh will see it together! The even ground found at the foot of the Cross is a smooth path, open to all.
What is the “Good News” that we are to “Cry Out”?
“A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?” “All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” Isaiah 40:6-8
The good news is…are you ready for it?
That our glory fades.
That our strength fails.
That humanity is weak and frail.
That our kingdoms are temporary and fragile…
BUT THAT OUR GOD does not fade or change, and HE is inviting us to stand with him forever.
His breath brings an end to injustice, and his word invites us to live with him forever! We are left neither to trust in ourselves nor to fret being carried away by the godlessness or evil we see in others. Our God has come near to restore all things! Isaiah continues:
“Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” Isaiah 40:9
Oh, how we need eyes that will see and voices of strength that will speak a better word than all of the blood of Abel rising up from the ground. All fear dissipates in every space where we will “behold our God!” The reason is simple:
We are becoming like the image we are beholding.
Those who make much of the brokenness in the world and all the enemy seems to be up to find themselves arrested by accusation, bitterness, fear, and the pointing finger of blame in every direction, except the mirror. But...
Those who make much of their Creator, create.
Those who make much of the Lover of our souls love souls deeply.
Those who make much of the coming harvest join God on the harvest field.
We become like what we behold.
“Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.” Isaiah 40:10-11
If we will still our souls and give even a moment’s reprieve from all of the noise to look around us in any direction, we would quickly see that all of creation is shouting the glory of God, calling us to remember :
God is mighty. He has no deficiency of strength or limitation of resource.
God rules over creation. He is the undisputed King of Majesty, speaking whole galaxies into existence with a single word. He is not asleep at the wheel.
God alone is able to carry both reward and recompense, mercy and justice. The judge of all the earth will do what is right (Genesis 18:25), and rewards those who diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6).
The Lord is our Shepherd. He leads us to lush pastures and lets us graze there. He is able to gather his diverse flock together, to lift us close to his chest to hear his heartbeat, and to lead us to both life-giving water and soul-restoring rest. And in the midst of all of the harsh tones of our age of outrage, our God leads us gently. It’s his kindness that leads the world to repentance. We need not lose heart in our current field of circumstances, but only to “behold” HIM!
For all who feel their way is hidden from the Lord or their rights are being assaulted and not upheld by their God, fearing that they are being removed from his path for them (40:27), Isaiah closes with a paradigm-shifting challenge I’d encourage you to read through slowly, as you consider whatever seems to be blocking your path or slowing your peace today.
“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up on wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:28-31
God’s strength doesn’t fail.
His understanding knows no limits.
He gives power to the weak.
He renews and restores all the enemy has stolen.
Those who behold God become like him, and those who wait on God find their weariness lost in wonder.
I urge you today to pause and consider anywhere you're making too much out of what you can do or what you’re afraid “they’re” gonna do (whoever "they" are). Breathe deeply and look around you for some good news. The Comforter has come.
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